1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a catalyst component for addition polymerization, a catalyst for addition polymerization prepared by using the same, and a process for producing an addition polymer.
2. Description of Related Art
Since olefin polymers such as polypropylene and polyethylene are excellent in mechanical properties, chemical resistance and the like and relatively low cost in view of those properties, they have been widely used for various molding fields. These olefin polymers have been produced by polymerizing an olefin using a conventional solid catalyst (multi-site catalyst) which is obtained by combining a solid catalyst component obtained by using a metal compound of the Group IV such as titanium trichloride, titanium tetrachloride or the like, with a metal compound of the Group XIII represented by an organoaluminum compound.
A process for producing an addition polymer, which polymerizes an addition-polymerizable monomer using a so-called single site catalyst combining a transition metal compound which is different from a solid catalyst component having been used from old (for example, a metallocene complex) with an aluminoxane and the like, is recently proposed. For example, a process using bis(cyclopentadienyl) zirconium dichloride and methyl aluminoxane is reported in JP-A-58-19309. Further, it is reported that a specific boron compound and such transition metal compound are combined. For example, a process using bis(cyclopentadienyl) zirconium dimethyl and tri(n-butyl)ammonium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl) borate is reported in JP-A-01-502036. The olefin polymer obtained by using such single site catalyst has a narrower molecular weight distribution than that obtained by a conventional solid catalyst (multi-site catalyst), and further, a comonomer is more homogeneously copolymerized in case of a copolymer. Accordingly, it is known that a more homogeneous copolymer than a case of using the conventional solid catalyst is obtained.
The improvement of such catalyst component for addition polymerization has been intensively studied, and the kinds of metals used for main catalyst component are widely reported over the respective Groups of the Periodic Table. For example, in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 38 428 (1999), it reported that a metallocene complex and non-metallocene compound of the Group III or Group XIII are effective as the main catalyst component. On the other hand, as a co-catalyst component for activation of combining the metallocene complex or non-metallocene compound, an aluminoxane belonging to a compound of the Group XIII, a boron compound and the like are mainly studied.
Further, it is also carried out that a preferable Lewis acid catalyst component is prescribed according to the value of exothermic energy calculated by quantum chemistry calculation, but a component which contains an atom of the Groups II to XII is not disclosed (JP-A-05-194641).